Finally tapping into the girl band market, South Korean entertainment company Hybe will unveil its first female group this year.

On April 13, the agency announced its anticipated album release date for one of the newbies on the roster, Le Sserafim, which is set to debut on May 2.

For most K-pop fans, Hybe is usually looked upon as a successful boy band agency, producing popular groups like BTS, TXT and Enhypen. But Hybe is aiming for another title this year with its girl group projects set to launch one after another.

HYBE LABEL'S FIRST GIRL GROUP WITH SOURCE MUSIC

After months of speculations and guesses on the group’s details, it was on March 28 that Hybe and Source Music announced their first girl group’s name.

After a three-day countdown on its website headlined with “I’m Fearless” in bold, the phrase turned out to be an anagram of the band’s name. Along with the grand reveal, various social media channels opened for the band’s upcoming debut. The six-member girl group will debut in May.

FAMILIAR FACES

Before all six members were revealed, three familiar faces from idol competition shows were already known to be debuting as part of Le Sserafim.

After former members of IZ*ONE, Miyawaki Sakura and Kim Chae-won, signed an exclusive contract with Source Music in March, it was confirmed that they would be debuting as part of the group.

Huh Yun-jin, who appeared in the show “Produce 48” with the two girls, was revealed to be part of the team too.

THE BIG REVEAL -- AND CONTROVERSIES

Source Music unveiled the six members of the group one by one, one day after another, and new faces – Japanese member Kazuha, Hong Eun-chae and Kim Garam – were introduced.

After the grand reveal, heated debate also followed with concerns raised over the group’s short tennis skirts and high heels being too sexual, as the members include 15-year-old Hong.

Also, past photos of Kim spread around online communities with claims that she was a bully in middle school. Following these claims, Source Music put out a statement denying all allegations and even saying that Kim was actually the victim.

BANG SI-HYUK WILL SPEARHEAD THE PROJECT

As Hybe’s first girl group, Le Sserafim’s debut album will be produced by none other than Bang Si-hyuk himself, who played a big part in BTS’ success.

He’s already coming out in full support as a head producer, posting a welcome picture with Kim Chae-won and Miyawaki Sakura on his Instagram when they joined Source Music.

• BTS boss enters Forbes list of Korea's richest

In July 2021, Bang stepped down from his CEO position at Hybe to be more involved in the music production side.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Bang Si-Hyuk (@hitmanb72)

ANOTHER GIRL GROUP DEBUT ON THE LINE?

K-pop fans are in for a feast, as we will see another girl group coming from Hybe’s sub-label Ador as well. As per BE(ATTITUDE) Magazine’s interview feature, Ador’s CEO Min Hee-jin shared that the group will debut in the third quarter of the year.

Many fans are excited to see a new girl group coming from Min, who is praised for her distinctive artistic direction, having worked with many groups during her 17-year role as creative director at SM Entertainment.

Appearing on the show “You Quiz on the Block” last year, she shared how confident she is in the success of the upcoming group, revealing “I already had the [group’s debut] song ready two years ago.”

'I-LAND 2' WILL AIR, TOO

It will for sure be a busy year for Hybe, as it is also co-hosting a girl group global audition programme “I-LAND 2” with Mnet.

It will be a female version of the show “I-LAND,” where the finalists debuted as boy band Enhypen in 2020. It’s reported that the show will air around the first half of this year.

• 9 new K-pop acts to listen to
• Some K-pop deals see industry continue to expand globally while consolidating at home